You're Like Coming Out For Fresh Air
by Meredith McGarrett
Summary: A collection of oneshots for our favourite and most amazing couple: Meredith Grey & Derek Shepherd ... Some will be long, some short. Have fun reading this! *Please leave a review*
1. Stay here, wait for me

**Stay here, wait for me**

* * *

She chuckled as she held it up.

"Oh. Hey, that's my phone." Derek replied and he and Meredith kissed.

Then they parted and Meredith said: "You know, I wish you could stay or I could come with you or something." Derek already opened the door. "I'll be back soon. You know that." Derek assured her. "I know, I know." Meredith followed him to the door. "I just feel like I just got you back, and now you're going again, and I just have to stay here…" Meredith rambled a bit.

Derek loved her rambling. It was adorable.

But instead of saying something, he just pressed his lips against hers and for a moment it was just them. Meredith felt Derek's arms embracing her and she breathed in his scent.

 **Love.**

But even that moment got interrupted. Derek has a flight to catch.

A meeting to get to.

"You're right. You do. You have to." He said while flashing his McDreamy smile she fell in love with.

"Stay here. Don't move. Wait for me."

 **Neuroscience tells us it activates the same parts of the brain as habit-forming addiction.  
**

Derek was walking on the ferryboat deck, he was on his way to SeaTac Airport, enjoying the ride with the ferryboat over the Sound.

It was a bit windy but okay, Derek didn't mind the wind. He could hear seagulls cry, somewhere in the distance a ship tooted loudly. It was probably just about drive off and now wanted cast off, leaving the docks behind and with using the horns it wanted to make sure that other ships, small tourist trip shipping companies and sailboats, release the shipping passage.

He wished Mer was here and the kids. He leaned against the railing and looked out of the ocean.

 **It makes us feel like we can do anything, be anything, achieve anything.**

He pulled out his cell phone, he wanted to call Meredith and hear her voice. Only a few other people were outside too, enjoying the view of Seattle skyline. He smiled, he was on his way to Washington D.C. and about to resign to live with his family again. His family, it was in Seattle with Zola and Bailey. Meredith was there, his gorgeous wife whom he almost lost on so many unthinkable occasions, partly due to his stupidity.

Also, Amelia, his little sister was now working and living in Seattle (in Meredith's and Derek's house but they were glad to have there) … He was elated about coming back. He waited for Meredith to answer the phone but she was probably busy getting the kids ready which can be a very hard job sometimes.

So he let it ring for a few minutes, maybe she would answer his call (which would make him, in fact, very happy). If she won't answer it, he'll be forced to leave her a message on voice mail.

But he still had time.

He still had a few minutes before they would reach their destination, which was the other side of the sound. But then, like magic, his wife answered her phone. Derek smiled happily as he greeted her with a soft: "Hey, Meredith. It's me."

Meredith was about to leave the house in the woods with her kids.

But Zola wasn't ready yet. She refused to put her shoes on and Meredith was trying, really trying to be patient. Although she was happy that Derek was resigning. They are going to be a family again and that was nice. That is great.

Derek will come back and everything will be as it was before Washington D.C. came into the picture.

"Come on, Zola. Walk a little faster 'cause we are late and who can never be late?" Meredith asked her oldest child as she shouldered her bag. "Surgeons." Zola answered in a sweet voice. Meredith had Bailey on her arms and she was looking forward to Derek being home this evening and them lying in their beds, discussing their future (baby).

 **And once we taste it, we want more.**

"What happens if surgeons are late?" Meredith searched for further information and Zola could answer even that.

"People die." She said, walking a little faster.

In this moment, Meredith's cell phone went off and started ringing loudly. "Oh, I forgot to pack my cell." She called. "Wait here, Zo. I'll be right back." Meredith told her as she already opened the front door. Maybe it was Derek calling her, who else could it be? Maybe Cristina, but she doubted that since it was in the middle of night in Zurich, Switzerland.

Meredith walked back quickly and grabbed her cell phone. Her gaze wandered over to the Caller ID and her heart skipped a beat due to happiness.

The caller identification told her it was Derek calling her.

 _Call from: Derek._

It was her husband, a smile appeared on her face. Her heartbeat fastened. It really was Derek. She clicked on a button and soon she heard Derek's voice greeting her through the phone. She still couldn't believe that he was actually coming home after the meeting with the president.

"Derek. You're calling me while driving?" She asked surprised but also worried.

She still remembered the nightmare she had when Derek and she took the first *steps* in their relationship - him moving in. And then: _Your driving is something you can control._

"I am not, actually. I am on a ferry in the middle of the Puget Sound. I wish you'd be here with me. I could have come with you." Meredith reminded him, still smiling. "But you have to stay here. Wait for me, I'll be back soon."

"Yeah, I wish I was there with you. But I am about to leave with the kids for the hospital. You know, to sign on my shift." Meredith explained, hearing her husband's voice over the cell phone.

 **The thing about love is, when it's good, it's so very good, and when it's bad, it hurts so much.**

"I just wanted to tell you that I love you, Meredith, whatever happens, I love you. Please remember that." He said, looking out of the sound.

 _Why does this sound so like goodbye?_

"I love you too, Derek. I am happy that it's going to be us again. Please come home safe, Derek. Don't do anything risky, like talking on the phone was driving. It could end badly and you know it. You see car crash victims every day." She reminded, she was scared of losing him. "I don't want you to show up in your ER all bloody and injured."

"I'll be careful." Derek promised. "Good. Now take care, Derek. I will see you soon." Meredith said.

"Yeah, I look forward to it. Give Bailey and Zola a kiss from we." Derek replied, he smiled as he looked out of the Sound.

Meredith chuckled.

"Will do." Then, a bit quieter: "You're gone about thirty minutes or less and I already miss you Derek. How do you that?" Meredith asked him. "I'm McDreamy, Mer. You and Cristina named me that way. Also, I have certain ways … But I miss you too."

"Maybe I should have come you. I feel like I should have. I can't pinpoint it." Meredith said, obviously thinking about what could happen, already imagining the worst.

In that moment, the ferryboat was about to land. "You know what, Mer. I gotta go, we have to get off of the ferryboat. I need to get to my car. I running freaking late and I don't want to miss my flight."

"Yeah, sure. I love you, Derek." Meredith sighed deeply.

 **And if you can't find a way to balance all those ups and down, it will make you crazy.**

Somehow she had a bad feeling but she just couldn't place it. "I do too." Derek told her and then they ended the call. Meredith went over to her car to get to the hospital. In this moment, her pager beeped. It was the Emergency Department. Plane went down in the middle of the city.

"Okay, we have to go now." Meredith told them, trying to calm her racing heart.

"I see you when I get home." Derek said softly. "Wait for me."

Meredith smirked slightly but of course he couldn't see this. "I will wait for you, Dr. Derek Shepherd."


	2. Five Almost Perfect Seconds

**Five Almost Perfect Seconds  
**

* * *

Meredith just finished an emergency exploratory laparotomy.

It was very bloody, the patient was very lucky that he was still alive after he crashed his car into a pole while driving when he shouldn't have been driving. Stupid drunk drivers, Meredith thought as she entered the scrub room and leaned against the sink. Why do some stupid idiots always feel the need to get drunk and decide that it's a brilliant idea to get into a car and drive after getting wasted. She just didn't get it.

It had taken hours until she was able to scrub out.

She'd been here since 3 A.M. in the morning. A 911 page had interrupted her good night's sleep and she was visibly tired. But she did not show it. Meredith Grey hasn't seen her husband since yesterday evening, he didn't even wake up when her pager beeped.

Lucky him – he was so lucky that it wasn't his pager that beeped loudly to signal that Meredith should get her ass to the hospital as soon as possible. Derek was the one who could sleep in this morning, and she wished she could too. But she has to work. She tossed a glance at the clock.

It was already 7: 34 AM in the morning and her day hasn't even begun.

She sighed.

This was going to be a crappy day. She already had it in her bones. "Meredith, you need to come to the pit, they need you there." Amelia opened the door of the scrub room and immediately recognized her sister in law.

"Another trauma?" Meredith asked, already knowing the answer. "Yeah, lots and lots of stupid, drunk morons. I get that." Amelia smiled shortly at her. "I have to go, emergency craniotomy, some guy who crashed his motor cycle suffered a subdural bleed. Now I have to go in and relieve the pressure. Isn't this Derek's day off?" Amelia Shepherd asked, her eyes on Meredith.

"Yeah, no, he's got lucky that way. But this isn't his day off, he is on call today but he does not have to come in early." Meredith explained.

"But I better go and see what's going on down there." Amelia nodded in understanding. "And I have a surgery to get to." With that she left for OR 4. Meredith glanced at her as she walked away. She liked having Derek's sister in Seattle. Amelia was the only one who she really likes and all … In this moment her pager beeped loudly.

"I'm going." She grumbled as she scanned the screen quickly and walked off toward the Emergency Department.

* * *

Derek woke up by the sound of the rain splashing against the windows. He turned to Meredith's side of the of the bed only to find it empty. Where was his wife? Maybe she got paged. He calmed his mind with that. It wasn't that uncommon for surgeons to get paged in the middle of the night.

Maybe it was the reason for Meredith not being in her bed.

Then he looked at the clock. And he was kind of about to be late. So he got up, even if only reluctantly. His first point was making coffee for him and then making breakfast for the children and then getting the kids ready.

"C'mon, Zola, get up. It's already … oh my, we're running late again." Derek tried to negotiate with his four year old.

But she was so stubborn which reminded him of Meredith's stubbornness.

It seems like Meredith's stubbornness has influenced Zola.

"Daddy will be late for work if you continue to do this." Zola just snuggled deeper into the cushions.

"And you don't want Daddy to be late, do you?" Derek started another time. But so far there was no success. "'m tired, wanna sleep." His daughter just answered in a sweet voice that didn't let room for him to say anything. This was going to be hard. Derek sat down on the edge of Zola's bed.

"Okay, Zozo. Here's the thing: I know you want to sleep and all but what about going to bed earlier? Maybe that would solve this issue what we have now." Derek smirked at his daughter. "Oh, no, that is not necessary." Zola answered quickly, her head tucked under the covers. And then her head appeared on the surface, her hair was …

"But I think this is." Derek said and without warning, he started tickling Zola out of bed so that she hadn't has a choice but to get up.

"Stop, Daddy, this is … I …" But mid – sentence, Zola began giggling. And finally, Derek had managed getting his daughter out of bed. He guessed Meredith had been called in for some emergency and he was right. Apparently, she left a note on the kitchen table. "Let's go, Zo. We're gonna braid your hair so you look pretty for the day."

Derek led his daughter to bathroom.

After Zola was ready and dressed and sitting on a chair in the kitchen and eating cereal from a bowl, Derek got Bailey ready.

Even getting Zola to put her shoes on seemed to be a very challenging task sometimes. Sometimes, kids can give someone a hard time ... and now that was the case - obviously. And today, obviously, was sometimes. "Zola." Derek said patiently as his daughter did not seem to want to listen to him. "Put them on so we can go."

"Why?" Zola asked innocently.

"Daddy needs to work. I'll even play princess tea party with you and Bayls after work." Derek tried it with bribing.

He knew it was wrong but he had no choice. "Yeah, pwincess tea party." Zola exclaimed happily and she finally agreed to put on her shoes. Derek had Bailey on his arm as he and Zola exited the Dream House he built for his family. His family means everything to him. After another thirty minutes, he arrived at the hospital and went to drop off Zola and Bailey in daycare. He had scheduled an important surgery in one hour if nothing happens.

When he was about to scrub in he met Meredith in the hallway. She looked like she was under a lot of pressure right now and seemed stressed. He knew her.

"Hey, Mer." He called out, seeing his gorgeous, ethereal wife running across the hallway.

She seemed to be in a rush, a hectic morning, he guessed by her looks.

Meredith turned and saw the neurosurgeon walking toward her. Her knight in shining whatever was there. She smiled at him and even though she looked exhausted and her eyes told him that she was longing for a bed, she still looked beautiful. His breath caught when he saw her. "Derek. You don't believe me when I say that you are the only thing that I have been looking forward to seeing in the last few hours …" She giggled tiredly as Derek's piercing blue eyes met hers.

"I feel honored." Derek replied, softly. He loved this woman with all of his heart.

 _She is the one. She is the right one._

His thumb caressed Meredith's cheek for a slight moment and in the next, Derek's arms were embracing her. She closed her eyes for a moment. Derek gave her gentle kiss on the forehead.

"I only have a few minutes, then I have to go prep for surgery on my Spondylolisthesis patient. I am working with Torres together. Plus, I might have promised Zozo a tea party." He confessed. Meredith's head was still pressed against his chest. He looked down at her for a moment, his hand ran over her hair. He couldn't believe how blessed he was to have everything he wanted.

A perfect, happy, shiny little family.

"I love you." He murmured into her hair. "I love you too, McDreamy with the perfect hair." Meredith chuckled as soon as the words escaped her mouth.

Derek looked at her flabbergasted.

"You just didn't say that, right?" Derek asked, shock evident in his voice.

"I did."

Meredith laughed at his face.

Both surgeons erupted in laughters. It was freeing. "If you want you can scrub in." Derek offered suddenly. "If you have nothing to do." In this moment, Meredith's pager beeped again.

"When do people learn not to drive drunk?" She said acidly as she stared at the pager. Trauma.

Once again.

She then looked up to Derek, kissing him quickly and said: "I would really love to but as you see - some idiot has wrapped his car around a pole. Which means I have to go. Sadly." Meredith did not like that she couldn't scrub in with her neurosurgeon husband and his brilliant piece of mind.

"Hey." Derek said, lifting up her chin with his finger. "Look at me." His eyes met hers.

"We will reschedule our surgery we perform together. We're overdue for a date." He smiled at her dreamingly. "I love you." Meredith said. "You're the best thing that's ever happened to me including Zola and Bailey - our family."

"Come and find me after your surgery."

"Oh." Meredith grinned.

She knew what he wanted to say. They understood each other without having to use too many words. "You mean for dessert, right?" Meredith asked, smiling widely. Now she has something to look forward to.

"Right." Derek placed a soft and short kiss on her lips and watched Meredith walk away to the pit ...


	3. Plans Suddenly Change

**Plans Suddenly Change**

* * *

... when you don't expect it.

"Did you take the pot roast out of the oven?" Derek asked as they were setting the table.

"No, I shut the oven off because I don't want that thing to get cold." Meredith explained. "I'll take it out." Derek offered, okay, not really offered, more like stating.

 _We should invite her over... For dinner._

Meredith's head shot up and she glanced at Derek in surprise.

"Really?" She asked, suspiciously. They were in a hectic, trying to get the dinner table set up. "You're not really a chef." Derek said, wanting to be helpful in a weird way of helpfulness.

 _Dinner tomorrow night. It's what people do._

"And you are?" Meredith asked back, not really knowing how she should react to this kind of thing.

It was like they were competing in everything they were doing. "I am better than you." Derek promptly replied. Meredith's mouth formed to an 'o' as she heard Derek's answer.

"Why would you say something like that?" Meredith wanted to know why Derek acts like he can always do everything best. She watched him walking over to the oven to take it out. "You called the pot roast a thing." He reasoned.

"But it's not true. You're not better than me."

Derek turned around.

"Have you ever cooked a meal before?" Derek then asked his wife.

 ** _He's family, and this is one of the reasons why you didn't want to leave Seattle in the first place, remember?_**

 ** _You have family here, roots._**

"Okay, wait. Time out."

Derek looked at her in confusion and waited for her to say something. But she stayed silent although she was supposed to say something when calling a time out since that is the way it works.

"I am calling a timeout." Meredith exclaimed.

 ** _Are you kidding me?!_**

"Well ..." Derek said expectantly.

"Well what?" Meredith snapped back.

Her blood was boiling and she was raging for anger. How can it be that some men have such a big ego, thinking that they could do everything much better than a woman? What is this with men and their stupid boy penises?

Meredith stared at Derek, enjoying the silence – for once they weren't fighting although Derek looked at her in confusion. He leaned against the counter, staring at his wife.

His arms were crossed over his chest.

 ** _I have to have dinner with the sister I don't know and the bio-dad she hates because you gave up your chance to work for Obama?!_**

 ** _You're gonna play that card?_**

"You called a time out."

They were fighting about a freaking pot roast. And now about how to do time outs ... Meredith couldn't believe what had happened to her marriage. "You have to say something when you're calling a time out." Derek told her.

How long will it take until they would hit rock bottom?! Meredith had no idea.

She just knew that it couldn't go on this way. Derek lost his nerves and remarked stiffly: "You have to say something when you are calling a timeout. This is not how it works." His voice got louder at the end of the sentence. "It's not a mute button."

"It is now." Meredith didn't care since it worked as one.

Derek just watched her.

"I say it does work because …" Meredith paused and took a deep breath.

"I need a break." Meredith looked at the neurosurgeon.

 ** _Of course you are because you'll be playing that card until the end of freaking time!_**

"I need a break. From you, from the fighting." Meredith said, hoping Derek would understand.

 ** _What?_**

"From the pot roast. Because the table isn't set, the candles aren't lit, the guests will arrive in thirty minutes and I still have to take a shower. So I apologize that fighting with you isn't the first thing I have on my mind right now." Meredith hissed, trying to ignore the smile of the neurosurgeon who eyed her dreamily.

He smiled at her dreamily ...

"Don't look at me like that." Meredith told him warningly.

"Like what ..." Derek answered.

Meredith just looked at him for a moment.

"I could use a shower too." He said in a soft voice, focusing on Meredith. Talk about mood swings. "No." Meredith replied as Derek tried it with puppy dog eyes.

 ** _No, I am so sick of your passive-aggressive..._**

"You don't can shower with me. Showering is the one thing I can do alone. So, no to the puppy dog eyes." Meredith was eager to hold her word. Derek was not going to shower with her. "Please, we haven't had …" Derek started to beg. "I know." Meredith loved torturing Derek by withholding sex.

 ** _Time-out._**

 ** _I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. I am just trying to help out here. I'm trying to help you, and I am trying to help them. I come from a big family._**

It had worked pretty well went he'd gotten the job offer for the first time when he was supposed to be stepping back so that she can start with research and work and all. But he hasn't kept his promise at all. Instead he forced her to have dinner with the sister she never even heard of and the biological dad she hates.

"Oh, god, we've totally forgotten about the guests. Derek." Meredith said in realization.

They haven't showed up for their own dinner. A dinner at their house- that was downright embarrassing. That was … they had no idea what it was but it was not appropriate. Meredith shook her husband's shoulder as he didn't react.

"Oh, crap." He echoed.

"What are we going to say to them tomorrow?" He asked helplessly.

 ** _It's crazy, it's messy, but it's good, and I want that for you._**

"That's on you, you have to figure that out. You wanted to shower with me so practically it's your fault." Meredith rambled nervously.

Derek exited the shower, water dropped onto the floor as he reached for a towel. "We'll see." Derek said smilingly. "We'll see if they're still here and we'll go from there." Derek calmed her down. "Can you …" Meredith asked. She was getting cold without the water being on. "Can you grab me one of those?" She asked and pointed toward the towel Derek held in her hand. "Sure."

 ** _I want you to have that._**

They both went downstairs, expecting Maggie and Webber waiting for them to show up. But they were gone. They left. "So …" Meredith started. "They left. What do we do now?" "Continuing where we left." Derek suggested, throwing suggestions in the air. Meredith stared at him as if he lost his mind. "You're terrible." She finally exclaimed.

"Terrible influence." She continued. Derek just laughed. He needed that day with Meredith to remember why they fell in love. And the spark, it was still there. That was good.

Because if something feels that good it can't be wrong, right?

 ** _She's your sister, and he's practically your father._**

 ** _And Zola needs more black people in the family because I'm running out of ways to braid her hair and Bailey won't show me anymore._**

 ** _Fine. But you clear it with Pierce._**

"Mmh." Meredith answered, unsure. "They aren't here." "Yeah, 'cause we lost track of time." Meredith gave back. "You said I should invite her to dinner and now you're the reason ..."

"I am?" Derek exclaimed in surprise.

"Why me?"

"Since you're the one who suggested that we should ..." She didn't complete the sentence.

Pause.

"Let's just don't fight." He just said, eyeing her dreamily.

"Fine. We can fight tomorrow." Meredith replied. Derek only chuckled at the way she said that: "Good. Then it seems like we have time to do something else - now that the guests aren't here and we're both alone and for once, not fighting."

"Right."

They both disappeared upstairs, bedroom.

 ** _Accept the win!_**


	4. Camping

**Camping**

* * *

"Cristina, I am going camping." Meredith told her person.

"Let me guess: with Derek? He is the one dragging you with him into the wilderness. Is he planning to climb a mountain with you?" She asked, semi-interested in her friend's 'problems' though she has a truckload of her own. They were just finishing a twenty-four hour shift, both women have scrubbed in on two amazingly interesting and highly complex procedures and now Meredith has the weekend off.

"Not that I can think of." Meredith answered, hoping the mountain part was indeed not planned for their trip. She was not equipped or experienced enough to climb some mountain. "God, I hope not."

"Sure you do." Derek plans to take her camping, he wants to show her the wilderness, the nature, the rivers and the insects that going to invade her sleeping bag or the sleeping bag she'd been borrowing from Derek since he had two them. Cristina just scrunched her brows in reply and said: "You don't do wilderness, Meredith. Surgery, Meredith. Surgery is who we are. Oh my, he makes you go?! Doesn't he?" Cristina seemed to find that pretty amusing so she erupted in laughter.

Meredith just rolled her eyes.

"Can't you be a little more productive, Cristina. I am freaking out here. I don't do outdoor stuff or fishing stuff." Meredith complained a little bit. "Quit it, Grey. You're so not getting out of this." Cristina chuckled, she couldn't help but do that. "Which clearly sucks for you." In this moment, Meredith saw a figure leaning against the door frame, smiling at her dreamily. It was Derek, fully clothed in some outdoor gear.

"Look what McDreamy's wearing, Meredith. It's probably going to be cold."

"You might be right." Meredith said before turning to Dere who asked: "You ready, Mer?"

"Yeah, I am." Meredith. "Looks like I have to go."

Cristina replied with a short smile before exiting the locker room, leaving Meredith with Derek alone. "I am." She reached for his hand and together they walked along the hallway, exiting the hospital. Derek was leading Meredith to his car.

When they got home, Derek already had packed the bags, now he only had to load them into the car.

„Really, so we're actually going camping?!" Skepticism sounded in Meredith's voice as she watched him packing his clothes into a bag. "You will like it." Derek assured her while smiling his McDreamy smile Meredith loved about him. "I don't do the wilderness, Derek. There are no toilets and anything in the wilderness." Meredith reasoned with him.

Although she never even thought about backing down.

She knew Derek loves camping and she wanted to share that with him. She really wanted to do that.

"You'll like it. It is a nice way of waking up to the birds singing and enjoying the view. There is nothing better than that." Derek told her charmingly. Meredith looked at him for a moment and then she said: "Except maybe surgery. Derek, I am missing out on surgeries." "There will be more surgeries, Meredith. Come on, this will be fun. Just the two of us out there, hiking and fishing." "I hate fishing." Meredith protested weakly. Derek just chuckled, he knew Meredith just made an attempt to back out in the last minute. That was so like her.

"Mer, have you packed your bag? I mean, we'll be gone the entire weekend."

"I know that we'll be gone for the entire weekend. I need my fleece. I assume it's going to be cold out there?" Meredith asked although she knew the answer to that question already.

Derek just grinned at her but there was no verbal answer, though.

Meredith finished packing her bag with warm clothes 'cause knowing Seattle very well means knowing when to pack extra warm clothes. Maybe she should do it like the birds who ditch Seattle every winter and then come back.

"I'll keep you warm, Mer. It's just you and me in the tent." He smiled her and gave her quick kiss on the forehead. "You better be doing that." Meredith warned him, a warm smile covered her face. Even if she didn't show it, she was excited about spending time outdoors with Derek.

This is going to be a whole new experience for her.

"I know that this is going to be a new experience for you but you know what: embrace it, Mer. You'll see, it's fun."

"Killing fish is supposed to be fun?!" Meredith asked, chuckling slightly.

"It's quiet, you can think and concentrate fully on yourself." Derek said. "Come on now, we've got a long way to go." He offered her his hand, then when their hands touched they made their way downstairs. They then got in the car and Derek drove them to where he planned to go camping. There was a lone parking lot in the middle of nowhere.

When they got out of the car both of them could smell the pines, the trees and all. The fresh air. Meredith saw the trail that was guiding them the way to the river Derek wanted to camp and go fishing.

 **/**

"This is my camping trip. I was going to come alone. Space. I have a right to space." Derek mumbled to himself as he looked over to Meredith who sat there on a rock and stared out of the water, she looked up and all she could see was freaking sky and some trees or more like a forest and a mountain, a really big mountain. And now they were camping and fishing. "Yeah, sure you have a right to space ... but somehow you've made the decision that I was coming with you. So this is all you, Derek. Still doesn't my question why we don't catch any fish. Assuming this river has fish in it and that we're using the right techniques which we are, we should be able to catch more than none an hour." Meredith looked at Derek who was standing the water, holding the fishing pole in his hand and seemed to enjoy this. But for Meredith – well she was freezing. It was cold and rainy and she'd be lucky if she doesn't catch a cold. But that kind of weather is typical in Seattle.

"What do you make of that?" Meredith wanted to know these things from her *mountain man* who was currently looking at the river, trying to catch some fish which seemed to be very difficult.

"What do I make of what?" Derek asked back, trying not to sound so amused.

"That we haven't caught anything yet. Any theories?" Meredith asked, trying to sound vaguely interested in what Derek was currently doing. But she just couldn't help but think that surgery was way more interesting.

"Just one." Derek answered, smirking 'cause he knew that Meredith would roll her eyes on him as soon as he said this.

"Fish generally don't like to go where there's a lot of noise." Derek explained to her.

"Fishing is supposed to be quiet, a quiet activity. It's good to backpedal from all the stress from the hospital and so on. I like this, fishing and being here with you even though you're making quite a bit noise." Derek smiled at her. Meredith faced him. "'m sorry." She mumbled. "I am going for a walk if that's okay. So you can catch your fish." Meredith smiled at him, noticing that he looked good in this, even though it's new to her. But before she could disappear Derek turned around.

"Yeah, people chatting, laughing, moving around, that sort of thing." Derek said, ironically he was the one talking and therefore scaring off the fish. "That sort of thing lets the fish know they're not alone. That's the theory." He explained. "Funny, coming from you ..." Meredith shot back, her eyes sparkled as she turned around to eye him.

"You're the one talking. I am going for this walk now." She said.

Derek looked up, locked eye contact. "Be careful, Mer. I don't want anything happen to you, you know." Derek warned her, suddenly overprotective. Fearing the worst, that something could happen to her while he had no idea 'cause he was preoccupied with something trivial as fishing while Meredith's life could be in danger. But his mind already figures out worst-case scenarios … "I'll be fine, Derek. I am a big girl. I can take care of myself." Meredith told him. "I know that. But this is not Seattle, we're in the wilderness here, miles away from the next house or hospital. I am not even sure if we got reception at this place."

"You're rambling." Meredith watched him and smiled.

"It's cute. I like it." She came back and kissed him properly. For a moment, Derek lets his fishing pole be a fishing pole and kissed Meredith. She closed her eyes, no one was around for miles.

 **/**

Then Meredith wandered off on some lone trail that goes straight into the woods. Derek was still near the river, trying to do the impossible and catch some fish. Wood cracked under her feet and the forest swallowed Meredith whole. It was a whole new area for her. After a few meters she felt someone following her. There were footsteps.

She breathed in sharply. She wasn't alone here. It was just that Derek was fishing and not with her.

"Mer, wait. There are bears out here, you know. It's better if you don't go alone." Meredith breathed out when she heard Derek's voice behind her and then his arms around her hips. Meredith laughed, then she said: "You smell like salmon." She mocked him.

Derek just smiled at her.

"Seems like I did catch our dinner." Derek smiled.

"We'll make a campfire that keeps us warm and then we'll can do whatever we want." "But first the walk." "Sure." He gave her quick kiss and they disappeared into the woods ... planning to be back for dinner.


End file.
